The Ringer
by awkwardyepyep
Summary: "That's the beautiful thing about a circus, my young friend." She says crossing her arms behind her back and leaning in like she's telling him a secret. "Any talent, no matter how wonderful or mundane, we can use it to entertain." an attempt at a Circus AU. warning: mentions of abuse
1. Chapter 1

Note: Yo! I've been messing around with this ever since I saw something about a Circus AU. I've got a good bit written but I'm just gonna start with this for now while I tinker with what I got. In this instance no one is related, Beth is an artistic director for the circus, Rick is a ring master, and Mortys a twelve year old stowaway. May add in a few more of the characters soon. The circus pretty much runs out of a huge ship that doubles as the home for all the entertainers pretty neato basically docks wherever and parties. Rick doesn't stutter or stammer in this because I just kinda wrote it that way but I guess it wouldn't really go well with his job anyways. also I guess that Beth isn't super in character but I'm not sure. Morty is pretty much little ol' Morty.

as usual with my work I don't really have anyone look over it and I'm lazy so if its fucky well, I'll fix what I can.

warning mentions of abuse.

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Morty Smith has no idea what he's doing. Not anything new for him to be sure but this time it may have gotten out of hand. Jumping into a random box of props outside of a circus ship has to be one of the stupidest decisions he has ever made. Even worse than the time he tried to sneak out of the house to get food and his father caught him. He flinches at the memory. Not remembering much of what happened after his father had grabbed his arm, his breath thick with the stench of alcohol, face twisted in rage, and then just pain. Maybe this is for the best, he thinks, anything this leads to could be better than going back to that house. Since his mother died when he was young and his sister, who he barely remembers, left as soon as she was old enough it's always been just him and his abusive, drunk father. Being only 12 and with no other real option running off with a circus is probably a pretty logical choice. Isn't that how it works?

They had moved the box into what he guesses is the cargo hold hours ago but he's still too scared to do anything more than peek out of the box. The room is full of junk to be sure but some of it seems interesting. There's old trampolines and tiny cars its almost tempting enough for him to crawl out but his fear still over powers his curiosity. He learned a long time ago that somethings just aren't worth the risk. What if his father followed him? What if he saw him jump into this box and is out there waiting for him to make a move? Just waiting for the opportunity to jump him? No Morty cant risk it. He decides he's going to wait here until he can be certain there's no way his alcoholic father could be out there. Shouldn't be long right? If he was out there he would soon tire of the game and stumble out shouting for Morty to show himself before he sobers up.

Yes, Morty plans to stay here just a little longer just in case. Just in case he thinks as he's nodding off to sleep.

Rick carefully makes his way to the cargo hold. If someone comes snooping on him and finds his stash he's going to be in hot water with Beth. Not that he cares of course she has no hold over him… he just doesn't want to have to deal with her yelling about illegal contraband and how he needs to just stop drinking that shit and focus on his job. It's a bonus if he doesn't have to see the disappointment on her face. He's a grown man he can do whatever the fuck he wants and if that means sneaking highly illegal booze from the human settlement ship they just disembarked from well then that's what that fucking means. Making it to the door marked 'storage' he takes a quick second to check down the hallways before ducking in and shutting the door behind him quietly. "Jesus we should scrap most of this shit… then there would be more room for booze" he whispers to himself with a snicker while making his way around piles of old rigging and what looks like an old rusted unicycle. "Shit. Which box did he say it was in again?" growling in aggravation he starts to open all the boxes he finds. "That's a box of red noses. Those giggling assholes must really go through those." Tossing it to the side he rips the top off another box only to stop in shock at what he finds.

"What the fuck?!"

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note: as per usual throw some words in that review box. tell me how you're feeling. had a good day? need a drink? I sure do.


	2. Chapter 2

Authorsnotes: hey yo... been a while my bad. anyways here's a bit more for you to chew on while I work on this crazy thing. I write in short chapters if you haven't noticed. Anyway here ya go.

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Morty jerks awake when he hears the rough voice shout directly above him. He looks up at a man towering over him with messy blue gray hair that's sticking out in every direction possible, a light blue sweater covered in stains, and a shocked look on his face that's quickly schooled into a frown. The man leans in like he plans on grabbing the boy he smells of the same alcohol his father does and it makes Morty shrink back in fear letting out a whimper and squeezing his eyes closed. "Well aren't you a scared little mouse of a stowaway." The man says almost softly as if to calm him. "Are you going to get out of the box kid or are you going to make me carry you, box in all?" Morty refuses to open his eyes scared that if he does the man will roughly pull him from his safe haven. He hears a sigh and then the light is gone and the box is being picked up with a huff. "Well let's see what Beth makes of this little gift."

Ricks not really sure what to make of this situation more annoyed that he has to put off his search for alcohol to sort it out. He's surprised how light the kid is in the box but now that he thinks about it he looked scrawny as hell. When he looked at the kid curled up in the box wearing ratty jeans, shoes that are falling apart, and a yellow shirt that looks two sizes too large. Shaking the pitiful image from his mind he refuses to let it get to him. Just hand him off to Beth and move on. He ignores the curious glances he gets walking down the hall carrying a large box. Knowing these nosy bastards they probably think it's some new invention or more likely a case of beer. He stops outside a door and carefully puts down the box before loudly knocking. He listens carefully to the shuffling behind the door hoping she's not in some stupid meeting but thankfully it sounds like she's alone.

Beth opens the door and he smirks at her disheveled appearance. Her long blond hair is pulled into a messy ponytail and her normal Jeans with a black band shirt combo are ruffled from her obviously sleeping on the huge couch against the wall of her office. "Been sleeping on the job I see." He says his smirk widens when she blushes. "It's been a long weekend you ass. It takes a lot out of a girl when she has to clean up after her ringmaster getting into a bar fight." She shoots back enjoying how his smirk falters and is replaced by a grimace. "You don't have to clean up after me. I can take care of myself." He deadpans. "Yeah well then do yourself a favor next time and just drink in your cabin." She turns back into her office waving him in. "No fun in that." He says with a huff while haling in a box she didn't notice before. He crosses the room and sits the box gently in front of her desk. The box is about 3ft by 3ft and he seems cautious of it as if unsure of the contents.

Rick has showed her all kinds of crazy stuff over the years that she's pretty used to this kind of behavior but for some reason this time it feels a little off. She carefully makes her way over to stand next to him looking down at the box. "What's this?" she asks but he's already opening it deciding it doesn't really need an introduction like one of the acts. She gasps and drops to her knees next to the box when she sees the boy inside instantly taking in every little movement hoping Rick didn't just bring her a dead kid in a box. There's no way she can cover that up. She gives a sigh of relief when the boy carefully opens his eyes to peek at her before hiding his head again when he sees Rick. "What the fuck?!" she shouts looking at Rick in confusion.

Rick takes her by the arm and gently tugs her away when the boy whimpers. "That's what I said! I found him in that box in the cargo hold. He wouldn't let me touch him or get out of the damn thing to I just brought him to you in it." She narrows her eyes at him. "Why were you in the cargo hold?" he pauses and scratches the back of his neck guilty. "Does that really matter? There's a stowaway?! What are you going to do about him? Do you want me tell the pilot to turn her around and take him home?"

Morty starts at that and before he can stop himself he's up and out of the box. "N-no! can't g-go back!" gathering the attention of the adults. "Not really up to you kid." The angry man from earlier says but the woman next to him seems to be studying Morty. When the man tries to speak again she cuts him off. "No…. let me talk to him for a bit okay?" the man's intense gaze softens when he looks at her and with a nod he's out the door. "Ignore him, little one, he scares everyone." She says softly. For some reason Morty trusts this woman. She reminds him of his mother and while he doesn't really remember her he does remember the feel of her. The feeling of safety. She walks over to him carefully and when he doesn't flinch away she gestures to the couch. He takes a set and watches as she walks behind her desk pulling out a tablet from a drawer and settling into the desk chair.

"Now, I assume since you don't want to go back you must have a plan of some kind." she begins while absentmindedly typing something on the tablet now resting in her lap. "What's the big idea kid? Running off to join the circus? That's not really how it's done now." Morty pulls his knees under his chin and thinks over what to say and decides on the truth. "I I I didn't r-really have a plan…" he says bashfully looking down at his fidgeting hands.

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Authorsnote: I'm working on it people I'm a busy person also going on a cruise soon so I'll be away from wifi for a while but I may still find time to write a little we shall see.

As always forever yours,

the unreliable Awkwardyepyep. *bows*


	3. Chapter 3

authorsnotes: How about a wee bit more? yes? yes.

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"Well how about we start with your name? Mines Beth by the way." The newly identified Beth says pausing her typing to study him again. He pauses his fidgeting and looks up making eye contact for just a moment before looking away. "M-my names…. Morty S-s-smith." Her typing starts up again at that and he suddenly realizes she must be looking him up and startled he stands up to protest. "Y-You can't look m-me up I-I-I-I" she cuts him off with a wave of her hand. "Too late kiddo the files are being sent to the printer now. Don't worry whatever's in there will stay between us. I know the past of every entertainer I hire think of it as part of the interview process." She says with a wink before crossing the room to where a very loud printer is printing out his story.

Three pages that's almost sad and as Beth skims the information she realizes just how sad it was. She walks back over to where he's standing. Mother died when he was 3, sister left when he was 5 and filed for custody of him 27 times but they were all denied. Apparently his father, Jerry Smith, was the head of some kind of rouge ad agency making enough to pay off CPS and somehow keep custody of the kid despite all of the charges put up against him. Abuse. The word sends a shiver down her spine and it only gets worse when she finds that the other two pages are just his medical history. He's twelve and the list of injuries this kid has suffered through is sickening. When she finally tears her eyes away from the paper she looks up straight into the boys' eyes. She tosses the papers onto her desk and drops to one knee in front of him. "Morty. I won't make you go back. I promise."

He can feel his eyes fill with tears and for the first time in a very long time he feels hope. Lunging forward he catches Beth off guard with a hug and she nearly falls back but she's able to right herself and return the hug tightly. She eventually pulls away and sniffs wiping at her face and straightening up. He shyly steps away and looks down at the ground again unsure of where to go from here. Beth seems to be equally unsure as she flops down onto the couch with a sigh. "Ricks going to be pissed" she huffs under her breath while watching Morty struggle to get back on the huge couch next to her. "What?" he asks cheerfully. "Nothing…." She looks away.

"So, Mortimer have you ever been to a circus?" He's looking at his hands again almost guilty now. "N-no…. I uh…." Beth feels a pang of sympathy this kids never even had the chance to be a kid. His father probably never even let him leave the house. Well she's going to fix that. "That's fine. That's fine. We can figure this out. Do you have anything you like to do? Talents? Hobbies?" he seems to only sink further in his seat at this. "I don't know…" she stands up at this with a thoughtful look on her face. "Well… while you try to figure it all out how about I set you up with a mentor of some kind… someone to look after you while I'm busy?" he perks up at this. Maybe he can make another friend like Beth he would love to have more friends he's always just had his father in his life. He stands up with her and jumps up and down in excitement. He's suddenly deflated again. "But what if I don't have a talent good enough for the show?"

She excitedly dashes across the room and ushers him over by waving her arms like crazy. Straightening up so she's standing at her full height, which isn't very impressive but since Morty is shorter than her it still has the desired effect, her face breaks out into a crooked grin. "That's the beautiful thing about a circus, my young friend." She says crossing her arms behind her back and leaning in like she's telling him a secret. "Any talent, no matter how wonderful or mundane, we can use it to entertain." She quickly reaches behind her and pulls open a door he hadn't noticed before. He gasps. It opens directly into the main arena on the ship. It's huge and full of entertainers practicing. Three gigantic rings interloped on the floor mark the area where the show happens and he can see the bleachers lining the walls sitting a good 10 feet above and going along the oval shape of the room. Beth's office is right under the bleachers with her own entrance to the arena that they are now walking out of. He's so amazed by the activity he doesn't notice Beth's practically vibrating with excitement next to him watching every reaction. She absolutely loves showing off to the new recruits. "So..." she begins before she's cut off by a shadow falling over them.

"You didn't use that stupid line again did you? You and your rhyming." He recognizes the rough voice from before. Looking up he sees the angry man who found him in the cargo hold only this time he's dresses as ring master. His long elegant coat is a dark red with careful gold embroidery lining the collar. The white dress shirt and black vest immaculately crease free. His seemingly untamable hair from before is arranged perfectly with a swoop at top that's possibly the most handsome thing Morty has ever seen. Even his bowtie is perfectly tied it's hard to believe this is the same angry drunk from just a few hours ago. "I fucking love that line! Why you gotta be a dick Rick?!" Beth shouts ending with a snort at yet another rhyme. Rick? Crosses his arms and sighs. "Just the worst." Morty decides to get over his fear and stick up for his new friend. "I-I thought It w-was good." He says not sounding as brave as he wanted to. The very intimidating man narrows his eyes as Beth laughs and throws her arm around the young man's shoulders. "My man! See Rick at least this kid appreciates my genius." She makes eye contact with Morty, mischief flashing in her Hazel eyes. "Don't let him get to you Mortimer; I like to think Rick here is secretly a big teddy bear under that rough exterior."

Ignoring Ricks growl she removes her arm from Morty pausing to awkwardly pat his shoulder with a thoughtful look on her face. "Can I talk to you for a second Rick? In my office." Her tone making the question sound more like an order. He doesn't respond just roughly pushes past Morty, ignoring Beths swat at him in response to his manhandling and strides into the spacious room. Beth turns to Morty with an apologetic look "wait here for a moment Morto we won't be long." She flashes him a crooked grin and with a wink she disappears into the room.

Morty shortly found a box near the door to Beths office to sit on and watch some acrobats practice up in the rafters. Wondering where Beth's going to put him and with who. He's afraid he may end up being a clown.

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Authorsnots: oh yeahhhhhhh


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